Terrible signal at STANSTED AIRPORT

[Rye1]

Can anyone shed any light on the absolutely awful signal for both data and calls at Stansted Airport?

H and 4G signal shows up, as do 3 bars in the phone reception, but calls are almost impossible, and any data usage is either non-existant (usually the case) or so bad that you just have to give up.

I'm especially griped as I tested the signal last year before going full time Vodafone (using my 1 month trial period) the signal worked fine so I signed up on a contract. I also got my other half to change from EE only to find that now the signal(s) are so atrocious as to be worthless. I had been on Three with similar problems (signal showing as available but unusable data) and really liked the Vod package, but I may have to go back to EE as it is so bad and I use the airport frequently.. 

Any ideas if this is temporary (going on for 6 months now) or simply lack of bandwidth/EU travelers roaming/network blocking?

The Stansted official wifi (run by Virgin) is hellish too as browsers won't allow connection and email servers simply block everything...

Thanks if anyone has any insights as it's a massive pain!

[Rye1]

@Combo

Is that a new development (due to improvements in the signal distribution etc.), or did you just get lucky?

Once in a blue moon the 4G works, but then just stops after 2 or 3 minutes and you have to  turn your data off and back on again to re-connect - only for it to drop out again.

It would be good to know is anything concrete has actually been adjusted?

Thanks.

[Combo]

That’s a good question. It’s been working the last few hours here but it’s still not great. Mostly just 3g, struggles to get 4g and needs speeding up as slow but at least there is a signal. I am in and out of here for the next few weeks so may feed back

[Mintpenguin]

I’m here now and it seems to be working fine..... first time this year for me and I pass through every month.

[Colleen]

@Mintpenguin This is great to hear, thanks for taking the time to let us know 😊

[nmorgante]

HI. This issue was first reported in 2018. We're deep in to 2022, and the connectivity problem at Stansted is still there. I would have expected, if not a resolution, a report from an investigation of the problem. 

This is underwhelming, to say the least.

[Gemma]

@nmorgante - thanks for reaching out to us. we understand it's frustrating when you're not getting the best connection. 

I’ve taken a closer look and can see we’re currently performing some maintenance on the local serving site (number 4911). Please enter the postcode for Stanstead airport into our Network Status Checker (CM24 1QW). You’ll see a tool symbol and if you click on it, it shows how long the work may take to complete.

Please keep a look out on the page for any updates.

Once the works completed, if next time you travel you face any issues, then please come back to us and we’ll take another look. 

[Combo]

This unfortunately won’t help. I have been travelling through the airport for over 4 years and this issue has never been resolved. Just last week it still existed.

this is not a maintenance in the aerial issue. This is a the network cannot cope or does not work very well issue

[Amanda]

Thanks for getting back to us @Combo (and this is for anyone else experiencing these issues).

Please get in touch with us over Facebook or Twitter as previously mentioned in the thread, with the following information so we can look into this further and possibly raise this to our engineers:
• Full Name
• Mobile Number
• Full Address including postcode of affected area
• Alternative contact number
• The type of issue being reported (service type, coverage/voice/data/SMS etc)
• What are the symptoms being reported (please give as much information as possible)
• Issue start date and time
• Make and model of phone
• Specific examples of dates and times of failures, from the last 24 hours

If you include a link to your post and your Community username we can match up your message to your thread, and you won't need to repeat yourself. 

When presented with the automated options, please just click Get Started > Message an Agent and this will get you through to us - thanks 🙂

[Rye1]

1) Does the issue happen in just one location? If so, how far do you have to travel to regain service?
 
No phone or data vailable despite 3 bars of phone & 4G data showing in status bar at Stansted Airport. Please also refer to thread "Terrible signal at STANSTED AIRPORT" (no 2607292).
 
2) What is the full postcode (e.g. ST1 1AA) of where the issue occurs? If you don't want this showing on the Community, add it to your profile here.
 
CM24 1RW - Mast number: 15145  Stansted Airport all areas.
 
3) Does the issue occur if you try your SIM card in a different phone?
 
Yes.

 
4) What errors are seen or heard when the issue occurs?
 
Phone and data 'show' as available (3 bars phone, 4G & 3G) but no calls possible and data is unusable. This has gone on for at least 6 months, and can be confirmed also by pilots using the airport, and other people I know. Basically, it's a totally unusable network, and in my opinion, could even be a satety as communication within an airport coud be essential in the event of an emmergency etc.

 
 
5) Does this happen on 2G, 3G, 4G or all?
 
All
   
6) When did you first notice this issue?
 
6 Months ago. Before that, I tested the Vodafone SIM before signing a contract and it worked OK. Then, soon after, things became impossible.
 
7) Is the issue permanent or intermittent? If intermittent, are there certain times of the day when it occurs?
 
99.9% of the time, and when any data passes through, it's available for about 30 seconds and at a speed of no more than 1 mbps. Then it simply cuts out. No calls connect. This can even occur when the airport is very quiet. 

 
As the pilot @conroy67 noted in the above thread, he and his colleagues on Vodafone also can not use the network, which surely is a real problem if pilots cannot adequately communicate. I would concur with him that this is not great for Vodafone's profile, and would join him in suggesting a visit to Stansted Airport by an engineer to see what the issue is, and what can be done about it?
 
Many thanks, and I, and I'm sure many others, look forward to hearing if anything can be remedied.

[Combo]

I am at Stanstead airport for the third week running and have the exact same problem. Every week so far as soon as I am close to the airport the signal shows 4G but nothing works. Can’t do anything apart from try and use the awful Virgin WiFi.... seems Vodafone aren’t bothered about resolving based on the dates of these messages !